Who is Susana Mendoza?

Just eight days after winning election to her first full term as state comptroller, Susana Mendoza announced she would run for Chicago mayor. Mendoza did not enter the race until after Mayor Rahm Emanuel dropped his bid for a third term. She has been among the top fundraisers in the mayoral contest, and the laborers union is her biggest financial backer to date.

Political experience: Mendoza lost her first bid for state representative in 1998 before winning election six times to the state House, twice for clerk and twice for comptroller, including a special election in 2016. She was a co-chair of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s re-election campaign in 2015.

Three top policy proposals: 1) Take the city’s 50 most under-enrolled and underutilized schools, and turn them into community hubs with wraparound services; 2) Continue Emanuel’s expansion of universal pre-K; 3) Use tax increment finance money to provide child care for low-income families.

Three key positions: 1) Supports Emanuel’s $95 million new police and fire training academy; 2) Backs an elected school board; 3) Believes city should consider Emanuel’s plan to issue up to $10 billion in pension obligation bonds.